How To Stop Food Waste (and save money)

How to stop food waste and save money with these realistic strategies. Wasting food is like burning money, but these tips can help prevent that!

I often discuss how to stop food waste on Instagram stories. I’m incredibly passionate about this topic, partly because of how I was raised and partly because I hate wasting money. The bottom line is that throwing food away is throwing money away.

My father was incredibly strict about wasting food. We had to finish our plates, and when we didn’t want to, he reminded us that many kids had no food to eat. I realize that seems extreme, but he wasn’t wrong. As a parent, I tried to instill the same values in my children, although I approached it more gently.

As always, all the tips I’m about to give you are things we implement in our household. So much of what you see on the Internet is copied from other sites, and now AI has made it even worse. I would never recommend anything to you that we don’t do ourselves.

How To Stop Food Waste

Admittedly, I’m a bit neurotic when it comes to wasting food. I will eat the same thing for days, eat weird things, and even eat things I don’t enjoy – so I don’t have to throw them away. I don’t expect anyone to be as crazy as I am, but I hope sharing some of the things I do daily to prevent food waste helps you, too. Of course, there will still be times when you have to throw food away. That’s OK. Do your best, and remember that even small choices can make a big difference.

Freeze It

I was well into my 40s before I learned that freezing food was the best thing ever! If you want to stop wasting food and can’t eat it before it goes bad, freezing it is your next best option. When it comes to freezing leftovers, most of them do well. Leftover taco meat? Freeze it. Have a bag of fresh spinach or kale that needs to be used? Throw the whole bag in the freezer. I use frozen spinach in my smoothies, and frozen kale works beautifully in soups and stews. I love these silicone freezer containers. I have both the single and meal-size containers and use them all the time!

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Give it Away

Even though my kids are grown adults, they still happily take all the food I’m willing to give them, lol! Neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family will always be happy to receive home-cooked food! My husband LOVES taking leftovers to work and sharing them with all the guys!

Cook It

Of all my tips on how to stop food waste, this is the one I do the most in my kitchen, and I did it yesterday. I had a package of mirepoix that needed to be cooked immediately, but I also didn’t want to use it that day. I threw it in a pan with olive oil and let it sauté for a few minutes, and that’s it. All you have to do is cook it, which gives you a few more days to use it. Keep the seasonings simple or none at all. That way, you can use it in any dish.

Repurpose It

For example, there are ways to repurpose leftover chili into a completely new meal. Leftover chili makes delicious taco salads, nachos, or chili mac. Leftover pot roast can be turned into tacos, pizza, or rice bowls. There are dozens of ways to transform leftovers into something completely new and delicious!

Eat It

The most obvious way to avoid food waste is to eat it. I roll my eyes when people say I can’t eat chili three days in a row. Yes, you can. Be a grown-up and eat the chili so you don’t waste food that you paid for. If you’re sick of it, refer to the tip above and transform it into something else!

Eat Less

The amount of food shown in the picture above could have been lunch the next day. You may think it’s an exaggeration, but I was a server for years, and it accurately represents how much food people leave on their plates. If you’re eating in a restaurant, that’s even more money down the drain because you paid a lot more for that meal. Shannon and I always share meals, and I can promise you neither one of us is going hungry. If we are, we order a dessert and share it. When you’re at home, start with less and get seconds if you’re still hungry. When it comes to how to stop food waste, simply putting less food on your plate can save so much food from going into the trash!

Buy Less

When I was younger, I was guilty of buying too much food. This was before I had experience running a household, feeding a family, and learning about money. When you buy too much food, you often can’t eat it all, and trying to becomes overwhelming. More often than not, it winds up in the trash. You can always buy more food. We all have access to local grocery stores, Amazon, and multiple grocery delivery services. No one is going to starve. One of the best ways to stop wasting food is to buy less.

Get Organized

It’s nearly impossible to stop food waste in an unorganized kitchen. An organized pantry, refrigerator, and freezer will help you track what you have and what needs to be used. When you buy too much, things become disorganized, jammed in the back, and forgotten. There’s a balance between having a good stock of pantry staples and not having too much. This is especially true for items in your refrigerator, which have a much shorter shelf life than those in your pantry and freezer.

Buy Frozen

When I talk about ways to save money on food, this is a tip I’ve given repeatedly. Frozen produce is a game-changer! First of all, it comes prepared and ready to go. You can use what you want and return the rest to the freezer. It’s also more nutritious. Unlike fresh produce, which has sometimes sat on trucks for weeks before it hits the shelves at your grocery store, fresh produce is often picked at peak ripe and frozen for hours, making it more nutritious than fresh produce. You don’t have to worry about the strawberries or onions going bad when you buy them frozen, and frozen works just fine for most recipes.

Have A Plan

It’s too easy to go to the store, spend a bunch of money, and then come home and realize you still need several things to create cohesive meals. Having a plan, even if it’s a loose plan, will prevent that from happening. You may want to check out my post on how to meal plan on a budget. I like to buy ingredients that can be used in several different meals. This is also a great way to ensure everything is getting used up. For example, I may have frittata, burritos, and rice bowls on the menu this week. I can buy cheese and veggies that can be used in all three dishes. Try not to have Asian one night, Mexican the next night, and the next. Plan your ingredients so they can be used multiple times.

Save Scraps

I’ve got one more tip on how to stop food waste, and this is something my daughter taught me to do! Keep a large baggie in your freezer to throw produce in. Whether it’s half of an onion you couldn’t use or a few carrots that are getting ready to go bad, add it to the bag. If you chop celery, the leaves can go in the bag. The same applies to the stems of herbs, broccoli, and cauliflower. When the bag is full, dump the contents into a large pot, cover it with water, and make vegetable stock. So clever and so healthy!

I hope this post has provided you with some helpful tips on how to reduce food waste. If you have any suggestions, please comment below, and have a great day, friends!

I hope this is helpful! If you have any tips you'd like to share, please let us know in the comments below. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook, and sign up for my email list so you don’t miss anything new. Thanks for being here, friends ♥

How To Stop Food Waste (and save money)

How to stop food waste and save money with these realistic strategies. Wasting food is like burning money, but these tips can help prevent that!